The Little Zen Calendar Catch-Up Post #6
Sunday, June 30th
In my shop I handle all kinds of
merchandise. If someone comes
looking for rat shit, I'll sell him rat
shit. If someone comes looking for
gold, I'll sell him pure gold.
~ Yang-Shan
Monday, July 1st
An old monk wrote the Chinese ideograph
for "mind" on the gate, window, and wall of
his little house. Fa-yen thought it wrong and
said, "The gate must have the character for
'gate,' and the window and the wall each its own
character."
Hsuan-chueh said, "The gate shows itself
without a letter, and so too the wall and
window."
~ Zen Koan
Tuesday, July 2nd
Mustard blossoms!
there is nothing left
to hurl away.
~ Soen Nakagawa's Death Poem
Wednesday, July 3rd
So what is time? If no one asks me,
I konw: if I want to explain it to a person
who asks, I do not know anymore and yet
I affirm with certainty that, had nothing
passed, there would not be past time - had
nothing happened there would not be future
time, had nothing existed, there would not
be present time.
~ Saint Augustine
Thursday, July 4th
The day is coming
when a single carrot,
freshly observed, will
set off a revolution.
~ Paul Cezanne
Friday, July 5th
Do not cling to good,
Do not reject evil!
Purity and defilement -
If you depend on neither,
You will grasp the empty
nature of sin.
~ Ma-Tsu
Saturday, July 6th
Wherever you are
is the entry point.
~ Kabir